Chelsea

I stopped by the Japanese mini-market that recently opened up in my neighborhood where I picked up Yakult and Chelsea scotch candies, excited in particular about the latter. I haven't had this since childhood.

It was probably one of the first instances of brand awareness for me, familiar with the packaging from so young that I believed it to be Taiwanese. My sister and I used to enunciate the unstressed A, as in: "Hey gimme some Chelsee-ahs!" And for some reason, just this little detail fills me with delight and a little bit of shame at just what a dumb kid I was. Anyway, these candies abounded. Mama always had a ready supply in her purse.

And yet, when I showed this pack to mama last week, it elicited recognition and a small and unimpressed smile: "Oh yes. These are very good candies. They sell them at Jin San." I wonder when she stopped getting them.